Mr. & Mrs. Vandebilt + kids

Our first full day in Phnom Penh Jacob made a new friend. Mr Borith is a tuk-tuk driver who hangs out in front of the guest house where we were staying. They struck up a conversation after Mr Borith somehow guessed that Jacob was Canadian. Mr Borith explained that he drives a tuktuk to earn a living for his family. He wants to take them to see Angkor Wat. He lived in Phnom Penh as a child but was sent out of the city to the countryside near Siem Reap during the Khmer Rouge evacuation of the city. His whole family, mother father and brother were killed during the genocide. We both took quite a liking to Mr Borith and hired him as our driver for the next day.

Our first stop with our new tour guide was the shooting range. Jacob fired an AK47 and a revolver at two unsuspecting coconuts. Both survived the attack. After Jacob had his fill we went to a much more depressing tourist attraction on the other side of town, Cheong Ek Killing Fields.

This former Chinese cemetery is where the Khmer Rouge soldiers would take the S21 prisoners to execute them after they were satisfied they had no more information. There are 129 mass graves on site holding an estimated 9000 bodies. The skeletons range from infants to seniors. They have excavated most of the graves and have preserved the bones in a memorial. However, since they haven’t been able to recover everything, during the rainy season bones and pieces of clothing will float up through the mud.

All of the prisoners were executed with their hands tied behind their backs and blindfolded. The bones were still wrapped in the ties when they unearthed them. At the time of the killings bullets were expensive so instead of shooting the prisoners they slit their throats with palm tree branches. The children were killed by throwing them against a tree. The marks are still on the tree.

We left the killing fields with heavy hearts. They only got heavier when we went out to meet Mr Borith. He told us about coming back to Phnom Penh after the Khmer Rouge were defeated and visiting these killig fields to look for his parents. He said that not all of the graves had been closed so by the time they found the site, animals had torn apart some of the bodies and the skin and hair was floating in the flood waters.

The worst part of Mr Borith’s story is knowing that it is in no way unique. The majority of people have similar stories and if not then their parents do. But instead of shutting down or holding on to the hate and anger Mr Borith was one of the most genuinely kind and helpful persons I’ve met. He greeted us every time with a huge smile and wave. He made us feel as if we were his guests in Phnom Penh and he was more than happy to show us around. He made our Phnom Penh experience.

If you happened upon this and are looking for a tuktuk driver in Phnom Penh Mr Borith hangs out in front of the Nice Guesthouse on street 107. His email is borith1964@yahoo.com and his phone number is 012395046.